Repetitive training of a synchronised movement induces short-term plastic changes in the human primary somatosensory cortex.

Full Abstract

The aim of our study was to assess possible short-term plastic changes in the human primary somatosensory cortex (S1) induced by a repetitive synchronised movement of the right thumb and shoulder. We therefore performed a source localisation of somatosensory evoked potentials after median nerve stimulation in twelve healthy subjects before and after 1 h of motor training. We found a significant medial shift of the N20 dipole on the left hemisphere after training, whereas the dipole location on the right hemisphere remained unchanged. However, no significant correlation was seen between the dipole shift and the improvement in motor performance. We conclude that repetitive synchronised movements are able to induce plastic changes in the contralateral S1, which might be mainly due to the synchronised proprioceptive input.

Author information

Author/s: Schwenkreis, P (P); Pleger, B (B); Höffken, O (O); Malin, J P (JP); Tegenthoff, M (M);

Affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ruhr-University Bochum, BG-Kliniken Bergmannsheil, Buerkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, D-44789 Bochum, Germany. peter.schwenkreis(-atsign-)ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Neuroscience letters (Neurosci Lett), published in Ireland. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2001-Oct; vol 312 (issue 2) : pp 99-102

Dates: Created 2001/10/11; Completed 2002/01/15; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 11595344, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

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